100 strong hikers sought to help find Dylan Redwine

Volunteers and rescue workers are planning another search effort for Dylan Redwine, the 13-year-old boy who disappeared last month north of Vallecito Reservoir.

Volunteers will be assisting La Plata County Search and Rescue. They will meet at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Edgemont Ranch picnic area on the south side of Florida Road (County Road 240) just east of Edgemont Highlands and just west of the intersection of County Roads 240 and 234.

“The search is not prompted by new leads in the case,” La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dan Bender said in a news release Thursday night. “Investigators want to cover that area ahead of a possible snowfall that may pass through the area Saturday night or Sunday.”

Organizers are hoping to gather 75 to 100 volunteers who are good hikers to scour the terrain northeast of Durango, from Edgemont Ranch to County Road 501.

“Searchers need to be prepared to walk two to four miles over rough terrain on steep slopes,” Bender said. “The search area will be divided into two-mile sections with La Plata County Search and Rescue personnel assisting each group.”

The volunteers also will be searching for clues in the ditches along the road.

Organizers are looking for “strong, able-bodied and adept hikers,” said Denise Hess, who has helped organize previous searches. Volunteers also should bring water, snacks and dress in layers for the weather.

The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office plans to assist with traffic control and public safety, if needed, Bender said.

“Supposedly, there are people coming from as far away as Denver to participate in the search,” he said.

Authorities ask that no children or dogs be brought along.

“Considering what we are searching for, we don’t want young children participating in the search,” Bender said. “We may find a crime scene, we may find clues related to a crime, so we don’t want children exposed to that possibility.”

Dylan, a former resident of La Plata County, arrived Nov. 18 at the Durango-La Plata County Airport for a court-ordered visit with his father during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Surveillance cameras captured him walking in the airport terminal and later that night inside the Durango Walmart.

His father, Mark Redwine, said he last saw Dylan asleep at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 19 at his home north of Vallecito Reservoir.

Mark Redwine said he ran errands in Durango and returned about 11:30 a.m. to find Dylan gone. There have been no confirmed sightings of him since.

Investigators at first were unsure if Dylan ran away, was abducted or if something else happened. Since then, they have ruled out the possibility that he is a runaway, saying he has been gone for too long and it would be highly out of character for him to be gone this long. Instead, they suspect foul play.

Investigators followed up with the locations Mark Redwine said he was at the morning of Nov. 19 and confirmed he was at those locations, Bender said.

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Tip line for information about Dylan Redwine

A tip line has been set up with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office to collect information about Dylan Redwine, who has been missing since Nov. 19. The line is not answered but collects messages and is checked periodically.

Call 382-7511.

Tips can be left anonymously, but if the caller wants a reply, a callback number is needed.

Also, investigators would like to talk to anyone who was taking photos or shooting videos that show vehicles along the typical routes between Vallecito and Durango from 6 p.m. Nov. 18 to noon Nov. 19. That would include County Road 501 and East Animas Road (County Road 240).

Anyone who can supply a copy of his or her photos or videos is asked to call La Plata County dispatch center at 385-2900.